In this powerful episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with her best friend, Stevie Silvers, a registered nurse and former hospital charge nurse, to hear the story of what happened when she began asking questions during COVID.

Stevie takes listeners back to March 2020 and shares what she actually experienced working inside the hospital during the pandemic, including the disconnect she witnessed between what was being reported publicly and what she was seeing firsthand, the staffing crisis within healthcare, and the growing pressure to follow protocols without question.

As Stevie began asking why, she found herself increasingly scrutinized by hospital leadership. She questioned masking policies, testing requirements, natural immunity, patient care protocols, and eventually the COVID vaccine mandate. Despite her efforts to find a way to remain compliant while protecting her health and keeping her job, Stevie was ultimately fired after 11 years of nursing, including time as a highly respected permanent charge nurse and recipient of a national Magnet Award for Transformational Leadership.

Stevie shares what it was like to walk out of the hospital after giving so much of her career to caring for patients, how COVID changed her relationships and her trust in the healthcare system, and why she believes questioning medical decisions should be a fundamental part of informed consent.

The conversation also goes deeper into the problems Stevie and Melissa see within modern healthcare, including standardized treatment, the loss of individualized patient care, fear-driven decision-making, and the growing divide between patients and the medical professionals they once trusted.

But ultimately, this is a story about more than COVID or healthcare.

It is a story about conviction, courage, integrity, medical freedom, and faith.

After losing her career and many relationships, Stevie reflects on how God met her in the middle of the uncertainty and how the experience ultimately strengthened her relationship with Jesus and changed the way she views her calling in healthcare.

If you've ever felt afraid to question a medical recommendation, pressured to make a decision you weren't comfortable with, or wondered whether there is a better way to approach your health and healthcare, this conversation is one you won't want to miss.

What happens when asking questions becomes dangerous? And what are you willing to risk to stand by what you believe is right?

If you are looking for someone to support you in your health journey,apply to work with Melissa here: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/clarity-call-form

Are antidepressants actually treating the root cause of depression and anxiety, or are we simply managing symptoms?

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa is joined by Katie Collins, PA-C, a physician assistant with experience in family medicine, urgent care, and lifestyle medicine who now helps parents make more informed health and medical decisions.

Katie and Melissa have a candid conversation about antidepressants, SSRIs, informed consent, and the research behind the medications so many people are prescribed.

They talk about the long-standing "chemical imbalance" theory of depression, what the research actually tells us about serotonin, the limitations of antidepressant clinical trials, placebo comparisons, conflicts of interest in research, and why reading beyond the abstract matters.

They also discuss what can get overlooked when depression and anxiety are reduced to a diagnosis and a prescription, including nutrition, sleep, hormones, blood sugar, nervous system dysregulation, trauma, identity, relationships, lifestyle, and spiritual health.

As Christians, Katie and Melissa also explore an important question: What happens when we begin to see ourselves as "broken" or defined by a diagnosis rather than seeing ourselves through the lens of who God created us to be?

This is a thought-provoking conversation about informed consent, asking better questions, looking beneath symptoms, and becoming more empowered participants in our own healthcare.

If you are interested in working with Melissa, apply here for a free clarity call to see what option is the best fit for you: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/clarity-call-form

Connect with Katie:
Find Katie on Instagram at @katie.c.pac for more conversations about conventional and "crunchy" approaches to health, informed decision-making, and navigating healthcare as a parent.

This episode is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Do not start, stop, or change any medication without guidance from your qualified healthcare provider.

Informed consent is the right to know the full risks, benefits, and alternatives before saying yes to any medical treatment, and it's something Melissa believes every parent and patient deserves.

This week, Melissa sat down with Katie Collins, a certified physician assistant known online as Katie the PA, for a conversation about what informed consent actually looks like and how often it's missing from routine medical care. Katie shares her own path from working in urgent care and family medicine to educating parents on the childhood vaccine schedule, along with what her physician assistant training left out entirely. The conversation moves through the gaps in vaccine clinical trials, the financial incentives built into pediatric care, and how so many mothers are told their child's reaction to a vaccine is "just a coincidence."

In this episode, you'll hear:

• What true informed consent requires before any vaccine or medical procedure
• The training gaps Katie experienced in physician assistant school around vaccine risk
• The three core flaws in vaccine clinical trials

This conversation is part of a bigger picture for Melissa: helping women feel informed, supported, and empowered in their health decisions. If this conversation struck something in you, consider scheduling a Clarity Call with Melissa to see if her six-month 1:1 coaching container with a community element, the Freedom Collective, is a good fit for you. Healing was never meant to happen alone, and she would love to walk the journey with you.

To connect with Katie Collins and learn more about informed consent and vaccine education, find her on Instagram at @katiec.pac or reach her directly at katie@katieccontent.com.